Ex-striker of Dynamo Kyiv Ivan Shariy recalled a segment of his playing career in the capital club.
Ivan Shariy- In the Poltava "Kolos", which you transferred in 1974, you played only two years, after which you ended up in the Kiev "Dynamo" - a team that many young football players aspired to get into.
- It was not only my dream, but also of all the guys in love with football. I was lucky to get into the Kyiv club, where I had the opportunity to prove myself, starting with a double. The school of Dynamo Kyiv, of course, gave me a lot. There I gained football wisdom.
- Didn't you think then, at the age of 18, that it was unrealistic to break into the base of Dynamo in the presence of such attackers as Oleg Blokhin, Vladimir Onishchenko and Pyotr Slobodyan?
- Not only thought, but also knew it. With such a line-up and such players, it is very difficult to count on something. Therefore, after two years, he left Dynamo, going to seek his fortune in other teams.
- What did Valery Lobanovsky say to you at the first meeting?
- He didn't say anything special. There were no instructions or anything like that. And in general, he was not inclined to talk a lot. It was important for Lobanovsky to see how ready the footballer is, how he gives himself on the field in training and in the game. On the basis of this work, he drew conclusions. Everything was professional.
- How were you received in the Dynamo star team?
- Fine. We then came to the team together with Volodya Bessonov - both of us had to do military service. Everything in the team was based on the sports principle: who was stronger, he played. It is clear that it was unrealistic to break into the base in the presence of Blokhin, Onishchenko and Slobodyan, who won the Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup a year earlier. There will be no coaching staff instead of any of them, if they play and score, put the young in official matches! They were allowed to join the squad only in test games at training camps.
- Did any of your experienced teammates take you under guardianship?
— Yes, there were. Troshkin and Matvienko (The kingdom of heaven to them). Both were much older than me, and treated me with human sympathy. They gave advice and shared experiences. There was a period when I even lived in the same room with Matvienko. In addition to them, Dynamo had someone to learn from: Konkov, Muntyan, Kolotov, Fomenko, Buryak, Reshko. All of them are fighters who had many titles both in our football and in the international arena!
- Playing for the double of Dynamo, you demonstrated an extremely productive game. Was it a shame to realize that this would in no way help break into the base?
- No matter how hard you try, it was difficult to compete with high-class masters, who, moreover, were part of the Soviet Union team. I remember once Lobanovsky decided to provoke me with a stimulus. “If you score, he says, two goals in the understudy match, I will give you boots.” I scored. The next day, he brought brand new Adidas boots!
- After two years in Kyiv, you left for another Dynamo - Minsk. What wind took you there?
- In the Minsk team, the head coach then was Oleg Bazilevich, who knew me well from my joint work in Dynamo Kiev. It was he who invited me to the capital of Belarus.
— Why didn’t you manage to stay in Minsk for more than one season?
- It so happened that Bazilevich soon left Dynamo Minsk. More precisely, he was "gone". A new coach came and since then everything has changed. There's nothing you can do: how it happened - it happened.
Vyacheslav Kulchitsky
